Qatar Airways and Boeing announced a historic agreement thanks to Donald Trump

During a diplomatic visit to the Middle East, the President of the United States, Donald Trump,announced a significant agreement between Qatar Airways and Boeing for the purchase of up to 210 wide-body aircraft, including 787 Dreamliner and 777X models, with an estimated value by the White House of 96 billion dollars.

This order marks the largest 787 Dreamliner aircraft order in Boeing's history and represents a notable boost for the American manufacturer, which seeks to recover from years of production, safety, and economic loss issues.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Trump, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Boeing's CEO, Kelly Ortberg, and Qatar Airways's CEO, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.

The operation also includes engines from GE Aerospace, specifically the GEnx for the Dreamliners, and the GE9X for the 777X, as the latter have no other engine option.

GE Aerospace described the operation as the largest wide-body engine order in its history. Consequently, Boeing's shares rose by 0.9% and GE Aerospace's by 0.1% following the announcement.

This agreement comes at a critical time for Boeing. The company is still recovering from the negative effects of incidents like the detachment of a panel on a plane in January 2024, which forced a slowdown in production and contributed to losses exceeding 10 billion dollars last year.

Additionally, it suffered a seven-week strike by some of its employees. However, the firm has shown signs of recovery: it delivered 130 aircraft in the first quarter of the year, exceeding expectations, and keeps an order backlog of 5,600 aircraft, equivalent to more than seven years of production.

The 777X, one of the models included in the agreement, is still under development and its delivery is scheduled for 2026, six years later than initially planned.

Qatar Airways already had orders for 94 aircraft of this model, and its regional competitor, Emirates, has 205 on order. Both were initial customers of the program launched by Boeing in 2013.

Although this is a high-profile announcement, there are still doubts about how many units of the order are firm and how many are options (reservations that may not materialize).

Boeing has stopped publishing catalog prices, and industry analysts point out that large buyers usually receive significant volume discounts. Therefore, the real value of the agreement could differ significantly from the announced one.

According to analyst Richard Aboulafia, from the consultancy Aerodynamic Advisory, the signing of the agreement has a strong political and strategic component. While he acknowledges that it is a symbolic victory for Boeing, he warns that it doesn't necessarily imply an acceleration in aircraft demand, as orders are usually scheduled for future years.

The main challenge for Boeing remains its ability to increase production and meet delivery deadlines.

This announcement is part of a broader package of economic agreements between the United States and Qatar, valued at more than 240 billion dollars, signed during Trump's tour of the region.

It was also announced a commitment from Avilease, a Saudi Arabian lessor, to purchase 20 737 MAX aircraft, with an option to acquire 10 more, and a recent order of 32 Dreamliners by IAG, parent company of British Airways, valued at 13 billion dollars.